Cassidy Burke is finding it hard to believe that she's next in a long line of demon dusters-Burke women paired with centuries-old cleaning solution to shine windows and spot demons. Sure, her "Clean Sweep" maid service is taking off, but wiping out supernatural bad guys? Come on.
But Cassie's surprised by her sudden fighting instincts and fierce new strength...both of which she's going to need. For one thing, her teenage daughter thinks her dad is dead, but in truth he just never knew about her...and now he's moved back to town. And after many dateless years, men are finally lining up on Cassie's doorstep. Sadly, most of them aren't human.
USA Today best selling author Maureen Child is the author of more than ninety romance novels and novellas. Maureen is a five time nominee for the prestigious Rita award from Romance Writers of America. One of her novels, A Pocketful Of Paradise, was made into a CBS-TV movie called The Soul Collector, starring Melissa Gilbert, Bruce Greenwood and Ossie Davis. Over the years, she’s written under lots of different names and she prefers the term ‘pseudonym’ to ‘alias’. As Ann Carberry, she wrote western historical romances. As Kathleen Kane, she wrote not only Americana romances, but western paranormal romances as well. As Sarah Hart, she wrote one really spectacular western paranormal that is still one of her favorites. And once, Ann Carberry even wrote a Victorian historical which she absolutely loved doing.
Under her own name, Maureen writes short contemporary novels for Silhouette Desire—books she loves to write because of their fast pace and condensed story telling. Maureen is also writing funny, contemporary paranormal romances for NAL and darker paranormal stories for Silhouette Nocturne.
Maureen writes paranormal romance novels under the pesudonym of Regan Hastings
This book is a first person narrative essentially about what would happen if in the first episode of the Gilmore Girls, Lorelai Gilmore found out she was supposed to kill demons al la Buffy the Vampire Slayer. OR it is also very similar to Julie Kenner's Demon Hunting Mom books. Apparently Demon killers are only called to fictional California towns, Sunnydale, San Diablo, or La Sombra. Now, I know what you are thinking. You're thinking, "Tara is going to complain about the first person narrative and about being trapped in someone else's head." Well, you're correct. I was so tired of the narrator referring to her vagina as a hoo-hah I wanted to scream. Plus she attempted to be humorous and tongue and cheek and in my opinion she fell flat. Then there's the fact that she was called a Demom Duster, and that almost everyone seems to know there are demons and for the most part they are okay with it which in the story seems odd. Then there is a whole introduction of the fact that she got pregnant at 16 and never told the father and now he's back in town and knows and wants her back. Although you never really get anywhere with that because there is a second love interest introduced, and he seems to be written specifically so you mistrust him, and there is no real payoff with that. And she keeps calling herself a slut puppy. This book is meh at best. There is apparently a second book in this series, I have to wonder if it gets any better. Maybe someday, I'll find out...
The first part of this book made me hungry, the middle part made me sick of hearing about food, and the last part had me reading fast. By about page 20, I was sick of the term "hoo-hah."
With that out of the way, More Than Fiends was different from other books I have read in this genre, and somewhat refreshing. There was humor and I enjoyed the inner dialogue of the main character. If this was a stand-alone novel, I would have been disappointed, but since it is not, it set the scene for a potentially fun series. It was slow moving in the beginning, but I suppose that can sometimes be expected from book one in a series. By the end of the book though, the main character is more comfortable with her new "job" and adjusting to her personal life as well, so I think book two is where more adventure will begin.
I grabbed this off a shelf at the local thrift store, without really looking closely at it because I've enjoyed books by this author before. (She also writes under the name Kathleen Kane.) I thought the title was More Than FRIENDS--so I thought it was a story about reunited love. I was so wrong. Instead of contemporary romance, I got paranomal chick-lit. Written in the first person, which I hate.
And it's got a hidden baby plot. I don't really like those either. I don't believe a woman has a right to conceal a child from his/her father. Unless telling the guy is impossible, or might actually harm you or the child, you don't have the right to keep that kind of knowledge from someone.
Maybe you have to be in the right mood to read this, but was just way too silly for me. I didn't get past the second chapter.
This book requires suspension of disbelief, not about the fact there are demons, but that a man can move home after 16 years, find out he has a kid and not only not be upset at the mother but want to date her. But if you can get over that, this is a fun, quirky book.
Things I enjoyed: * Thea - glad to see a teenager acting like a teenager * Sugar - that dog wants all the food * Cassidy's views on priorities *
Things that could be better: * No love triangle * bit more realism with people's reactions (see opening remarks of review) *
I love Maureen Child and her contemporary romances, especially THE MARCONI SISTERS trilogy and the CANDELLANO FAMILY trilogy.
Unfortunately, I didn't like this book a bit.
I don't know if it was the first-person narrative, the paranormal elements that were more irritating than funny, or the fact that Ms. Child introduced TWO fairly likable heroes for the heroine to decide over, but MORE THAN FRIENDS just wasn't for me.
Hopefully, other readers will enjoy it a whole lot more than I did!
Cassidy Burke is not having a terrific 32nd birthday. One of her two employees at her cleaning service quits when her paycheck bounces. Her massive cowardly dog eats her breakfast sandwich. Her ancient washing machine grinds to a thunking halt spewing water all over the kitchen floor and her dog barfs up the stolen breakfast sandwich.
Then Cassidy receives two very unexpected visitors. The man who got her pregnant when she was sixteen returns to town to rekindle their relationship and abruptly learns that he has been a father for fifteen years to her math genius daughter Thea who had been told by Cassidy that her father died a hero. Both of them are more than irked with her.
But the real clincher is when Jasmine, supposedly a friend of her grandmother's, arrives to tell Cassisy that she is the next in a long line of demon dusters who is tasked with removing evil demons from the Earth. She takes to the task as eagerly as Buffy the Vampire Slayer which is not at all. Cassidy doesn't have time for this. She's trying to win a new client who owns a sex club in town.
The potential new client turns out to be a hottie named Devlin who is, incidentally, a demon himself. They begin a spicy relationship which she has to juggle with her ex Logan's attempts to also rekindle their relationship. All the while, dusting evil demons who have painted a target on her.
This was a fun, quirky, urban fantasy story with a main character who is in over her head. Cassidy is funny and the picture of a harried suburban mom only with demons. Her romantic relationships need to step to the side when the head demon targets her daughter Thea though. Cassidy turns mama bear with a vengeance when her child is targeted!
This book has been on my TBR pile since 2008 and was a fun, quick-paced story.
Good story. Author's "voice" wasn't quite my style so it took me longer than usual to get through it, but that's purely personal preference and it was otherwise very good.
After getting all caught up in the paranormal craze a few years ago, I eventually got a little burned out on vampires and demons and etc., and the last couple of years I've been more interested in contemporary romance novels. But I loved SOOME KIND OF WONDERFUL by this same author, so when I saw her name on this book I snatched it up. And I'm glad I did.
There are quite a few characters, and since Cassidy narrates in first person point of view we see the other characters the way she does. Cassidy is a single mom, raising her teenage daughter in the same house where she herself grew up, and running a house cleaning service whose business is starting to pick up. On her 32nd birthday (a random number to say the least), Jasmine, an elderly woman who claims to be a friend of her grandmother, shows up and proceeds to tell Cassidy that there are demons everywhere and she is here to train Cassidy, the newest demon duster, so Cassidy can assume her birth right duties. Cassidy of course thinks the old lady is mental,until she talks to her grandmother on the phone and grandma confirms the story.
As for some of those other characters:
Devlin Cole is the owner of the hottest spot in a town, a nightclub that's also reputed to be a sex club. He needs a cleaning service for the upstairs rooms at his club, and Cassidy wants the job. It would be her first foray into commercial cleaning and could be just the boost her company needs. Devlin himself is probably the hottest bachelor in town, and from their first meeting the sparks start flying. Cassidy's been in a sexual drought, and Devlin has her panting.
Logan is Cassidy's high school boyfriend, who went off to college, leaving Cassidy to spend her senior year of high school pregnant. Although he never knew that. The day Cassidy planned to tell Logan about Thea, he introduced her to his fiance,and Cassidy went home broken hearted, without ever divulging her secret to him. Now he's a police officer, he's moved back to town,he's divorced, and he wants Cassidy back. And try as she might, Cassidy can't help but still be attracted to him also.
Thea is Cassidy's daughter, who's whip smart (she writes up the bid for the cleaning job, having a much better head for numbers than her mother) and who has always been told that her father died a hero, rescuing some kids from a fire. Or maybe it was a flood. Cassidy can never remember what lie she used.
When Thea meets Logan, she's furious with her mother for lying to her all those years. Logan is pretty angry himself, but he seemed to get over it pretty quick and was pretty forgiving. He got over it faster than Thea did, and I loved the interactions between Cassidy and Thea, with her grumblings and eye rolls and “I'm not talking to you!” and other typical teenage girl behavior.
One of my favorite scenes is at a block party, where Devlin and Logan face off against each other and verbally stake their claims on her, trading barbs regarding which of them belongs there with Cassidy. I liked both guys, but I did lean towards Devlin more than Logan.
Cassidy is shocked to learn about demons, but when she finally starts talking to others she discovers that practically everyone she knows already knew that demons lived within their community. From the outset she assumes all demons are evil, and she's shocked again to learn that some of them just want to live their lives in peace and have no interest in waging war on humans. Jasmine withholds information from her, and both Cassidy and I were put out about that. Doesn't Jasmine realize that by not telling Cassidy upfront that there are good demons and bad demons, Cassidy could have unwittingly killed some good ones? And it seemed pretty far fetched that everyone else in town is already aware of demons (and ghosts) living among them and just accepts it as a matter fact. Except Logan, who thinks Cassidy is making it all up, even after witnessing a dusting.
But despite those issues, I enjoyed Cassidy's humorous narration as she navigated this new world that had been opened up for her, and I'm eager to find the next book in the series.
Cassidy Burke's thirty-second birthday isn't going how she planned. She's been raising her daughter alone since she was sixteen. She never told Logan he was the father, because when she went to tell him, he introduced her to his fiance. She's been running a cleaning business for years, and it seems to be flourishing. She's trying to get a new account downtown, a club that caters to sexual fantasies and a clientele that is more than human.
When an elderly lady makes herself at home in Cassie's house, she is annoyed. That is until Jasmine explains to Cassie she is the new demon duster. It seems every female in her family becomes the "one" when they reach their thirty-second birthday, and Cassie's grandmother never got around to telling Cassie.
To make matters worse, Logan shows back up in town. He's angry Cassie never told him about their daughter, but he wants Cassie back in his life. However, Cassie is dating the sexy club owner, Devin Cole.
Cassie would much rather be shopping for a new Coach purse or eating chocolate than dusting demons. But when the head demon honcho sets his sights on Cassie's daughter, all hell breaks loose.
This is a hysterical tale! Witty prose and an unlikely heroine. If your looking for a standard paranormal romance, this isn't it. The love triangle between Cassie, Logan, and Devlin will leave you in stitches. Cassie is open and honest with her thoughts and feelings that is refreshing. I look forward to the next in the series, just so I can see whom Cassie chooses, Logan or Devlin, and what shenanigans she gets into next. Highly recommend for light and humorous entertainment!
This book was another accidental find and I'm glad I did. Cassidy Burke is have the worst 32nd birthday possible. An employee in her cleaning company quits and her teen daughter's long-lost father suddenly shows up. But nothing is worse than finding out that demons exist and she has a Buffy-like destiny to "dust" them.
Obvious comparisons must be made to Julie Kenner's superior "demon-hunting soccer mom" series (one of my favorites) and while Cassidy's story is not as richly developed as Kate's story, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. My one minor quibble is that it didn't seem "realistic" that Cassie would find out about demons for the first time and realize that everyone in town, including her daughter and best friend, already knew about and were comfortable with demons among them. That just seemed odd and hard to believe.
Otherwise, a delightful read and I can't wait for the next one!
Child has a dry, dark, sense of humor in these books. Cassidy never takes herself too seriously. She tends to verbalize what the reader is thinking as she adjusts to her new reality of being a demon hunter. As opposed to taking the often serious route of Buffy, Child is more in the “you’ve got to be kidding” camp. It is this humor that makes the book so much fun. I was looking for a light, pick-me-up read, and definitely found it.
Sadly, there are only two books in this series. Child had only begun to populate this world. There is clearly more to learn about Cassidy and the demons that plague (or not) southern California. Now that e-books are putting these books into readers’ hands, I can only hope that Child resurrects this series and moves forward with it. I will be along for the ride.
I really liked this. I picked it up as a bargain book not expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. To some extent it's a blatant ripoff of the Buffy the Vampire storyline but so much better and very humorous. Surprisingly, the love triangle even holds a bit of suspense in that it's hard to choose one of the men over the other. I almost don't want the triagle to be resolved in future books because I'd hate to see either of them leave. Maybe one will become less likable in the next book which I'm looking forward to reading.
Read this book because I really liked the Marconi series by this author, it was a bit hard for me to finish it because this is one of those books that while you have a bit of action and it's kinda funny, there's really no major plot, it got interesting at the very end but I wouldn't reread this one (I enjoy rereading a good book). Should you spend the money?... I'd say go find it at your local library and if you like it then add it to your collection, as for myself, I will be checking the library for the next book instead of spending the money on it.
Well if you’re interested in a funny and sexy read; this is the book for you. The main character, Cassidy Burke (who never takes herself too seriously), invites you into her crazy world of cleaning houses, a love (make that lust) triangle, raising her 16 year old daughter, and killing demons, the bad ones not the good ones (who knew there were good demons). I really enjoyed this fast paced quirky story and look forward to the second book in the series.
I enjoyed the tone of the story. Cassie is a fun, quirky character. I had fun with the plot and watching the characters develop. I would have loved to have been able to recommend this book, but unfortunately the author felt that the best way to capture the audience was to overload the story with swear words. This really killed the story for me. It felt very forced, and I quickly lost interest in the character.
This book really surprised me. I did not think that I would like it that much, but when I started reading it I found it hard to put down. Someone on here left a review indicating they could picture the main 2 characters as the Gilmore Girls, and I have to agree. I was intrigued, I laughed, and now I want to find the sequel.
Cassie was hilarious. She was snarky and spunky. She fell into her role as Demon Duster pretty well. Devlin and Logan might be polar opposites, but they both seemed really fantastic. Thea was a hoot and seemed to have a really good relationship with her mother. I liked the story a lot. It's gong to suck when she finally does have to choose between these guys - can't she just have them both?
The story started slow for me, I actually had to spend more time than normal with the first quarter. The story picked up which was saved it for me. Although the mention of the heroine's sexual reawakening grew tiresome and even quite immature as she regarded it as a "hoo-ha" since this was her thoughts. I'm very curious about the next installment.
I read this story in the Seductive Supernaturals: 12 Tales of Shapeshifters, Vampires & Sexy Spirits anthology. This was my favorite read in this anthology.
At times I wanted to kick Cassidy into gear, but her humor and take no crap from anyone won me over.
thanks Cherie! this should have NEVER been in the discount bin, but I am glad it was that Cherie was able to find it...it was HILARIOUS! I want to be tied down in the freezer at coldstone creamery......Giggle..
I thought that the book was a quick and a good read ..... I loved it !!!!! .....it's a bit of a mystery... a bit of a romance .... a bit of an adventure by a very reluctant heroine ..... am definitely looking for more of Child's books!!!!
LOVED this book!! First person is usually hard for me to read, but this just worked in this book! Loved the humor, loved the action, loved the characters! Now chasing after the author for a third book in the series. She can't just leave these characters like that!!
This is a quick paranormal romance read. It is similiar to the California Demon series. Overall I enjoyed this book and will definately will read the next one.